The First Eight: A History of the eight Black Congressmen from South Carolina. Jim Clyburn is the ninth. The Civil War started in South Carolina. So did Jim Crow, the overthrow of Reconstruction, and a long and cruel history of suppression and tyranny against Blacks. Therefore, it is remarkable that nine congressmen have been elected against this backdrop. South Carolina is the state that gave rise to the Civil War. Three days after Abraham Lincoln was elected president, its
